SEATTLE (AP) - An Olympia couple is being sued by the state of Washington for scamming 30,000 timeshare owners.
The
civil lawsuit announced by Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday is
part of a national crackdown coordinated by the Federal Trade
Commission.
The attorney general's office says Jonathan and
Christine Gibbs fooled elderly consumers into paying them thousands of
dollars to transfer ownership of their vacation timeshares to shell
corporations.
Ferguson describes the scam as a large, complicated
scheme that harmed about 30,000 consumers nationwide, including 1,500
people in Washington state. He says the couple collected more than $70
million while operating as 25 different companies.
It took Washington investigators 18 months to investigate and shut down the scam.
The Federal Trade Commission is announcing more than 80 civil lawsuits in 27 states.
Thousands of timeshare owners face unexpected repair bill
CALGARY- Timeshare owners at the Sunchaser Villas in Fairmont B.C.
were taken by surprise when they were billed for repairs at the resort.
Glenn and Terry Graversen of Calgary have had a two-week timeshare at Sunchaser Villas for the past 16 years.
They now have to pay $4,000 for renovations to the villas or as an alternative, pay $3,000 to cancel their contract.
The vacation villas at Fairmont went bankrupt several years ago and the new owner says the assessment is necessary because maintenance had been neglected for years.
But the Graversens say this isn’t what they signed up for. The couple says they have paid maintenance fees every year and it isn’t their fault the previous owners of the resort let maintenance slide.
“My concern is that they purchased it and now they’re making us pay
for their mistake of purchasing a property that wasn’t worth what they
paid for,” says Terry Graversen.
The new company running Sunchaser says timeshare members weren’t charged enough for upkeep in the past, and without this renovation, they stand to lose their investment.
“We believe the owners probably should have been charged about $300 to $400 a year more for the last 15 years to properly address the maintenance of the resort,” says Kirk Wankel of Northwynd Resort Properties.
The company says most of the money will be be used to replace the Poly-B piping throughout the resort. The plastic piping has been banned because it leaks.
Timeshare members in Alberta and B.C. have hired lawyers to fight the case.
They will be in court next month.
Glenn and Terry Graversen of Calgary have had a two-week timeshare at Sunchaser Villas for the past 16 years.
They now have to pay $4,000 for renovations to the villas or as an alternative, pay $3,000 to cancel their contract.
The vacation villas at Fairmont went bankrupt several years ago and the new owner says the assessment is necessary because maintenance had been neglected for years.
But the Graversens say this isn’t what they signed up for. The couple says they have paid maintenance fees every year and it isn’t their fault the previous owners of the resort let maintenance slide.
The new company running Sunchaser says timeshare members weren’t charged enough for upkeep in the past, and without this renovation, they stand to lose their investment.
“We believe the owners probably should have been charged about $300 to $400 a year more for the last 15 years to properly address the maintenance of the resort,” says Kirk Wankel of Northwynd Resort Properties.
The company says most of the money will be be used to replace the Poly-B piping throughout the resort. The plastic piping has been banned because it leaks.
Timeshare members in Alberta and B.C. have hired lawyers to fight the case.
They will be in court next month.
DIY MADE EASY
With my DIY Book you can follow the easy step by step guide to build a winnable case against your timeshare or travel cub.
I also have hundreds of pages of research that includes: Complaints by owners, court records where the resorts have been sued for misrepresentation, news articles from media investigations and who's who behind the resorts and clubs.
Click here Resort and Club Research to check out what's available.
Have you hired an attorney already? This research will help him prepare your case. If your attorney put the hours required into gathering all this information it would cost you a small fortune in billable hours.
I also have hundreds of pages of research that includes: Complaints by owners, court records where the resorts have been sued for misrepresentation, news articles from media investigations and who's who behind the resorts and clubs.
Click here Resort and Club Research to check out what's available.
Have you hired an attorney already? This research will help him prepare your case. If your attorney put the hours required into gathering all this information it would cost you a small fortune in billable hours.
It Works
You can get out of that timeshare or travel club. When you do they will make you sign a nondisclosure and retract any posted complaints on the internet,
Order my book or email me at notimeshare@gmail.com
Order my book or email me at notimeshare@gmail.com
UPDATE: Fire Damages Silver Leaf Hill Country Resorts at Canyon Lake Thursday, June 6th, 2013
Will be interested in seeing who will pay to rebuild.
http://kgnb.am/news/update-fire-damages-silver-leaf-hill-country-resorts-canyon-lake
http://kgnb.am/news/update-fire-damages-silver-leaf-hill-country-resorts-canyon-lake
Order Research on Your Timeshare or Travel Club. http://timesharegetout.blogspot.com/2013/06/get-research-on-your-resort.html
Thinking of buying a timeshare or Travel Club? Do you
have an appointment for a sales presentation scheduled? Planning a
lawsuit against your timeshare?
I have worked several years and countless hours researching complaints, court records, news articles and emails from timeshare and travel club owners who were tricked and lied to during their sales presentation.
You can now buy the past research on your resort or club. All research is compiled from public records, internet and newspapers. If you are ordering the DIY Get Out book then the research with save you many hours of work.
If your resort or club is not listed to the right please email me at notimeshare@gmail.com to find out what research is available. I have information on lots of resorts, too many to list on the Buy Now buttons.
Order Research
I have worked several years and countless hours researching complaints, court records, news articles and emails from timeshare and travel club owners who were tricked and lied to during their sales presentation.
You can now buy the past research on your resort or club. All research is compiled from public records, internet and newspapers. If you are ordering the DIY Get Out book then the research with save you many hours of work.
If your resort or club is not listed to the right please email me at notimeshare@gmail.com to find out what research is available. I have information on lots of resorts, too many to list on the Buy Now buttons.
Order Research
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